The Hey You Lady

At the close of the Good Friday service, you challenged us to meditate on what it would have been like for the disciples to see their Leader put to death. So, I put myself in the place of Mary (Martha and Lazarus' sister), and came up with the following: ______________________________________________________________ AFTER JESUS DIED - Mary What a Passover this has been! Martha and I have had so much preparation to do. This year’s celebration meant so much more than in the past. We’ve had so many blessings! When our brother Lazarus died, we hoped Jesus would be there to say good-bye before we had to bury him. Those two had always been such good friends. Martha and I even sent someone to find Jesus to tell him that Lazarus was dying, but he didn’t come right away. And when he did arrive, it was too late. We had already buried my brother. My sister was very gracious to the Teacher when he arrived to our home. But not me. I couldn’t help but think that if he had been here sooner, Lazar...

Earlier this week I pondered what if someone stood on a corner with signs saying "He Is Risen" and "Hallelujah!" The signs were made, and I recruited some youth from my church to wave the signs. Not only did they wave the signs, they unashamedly shouted, "JESUS LOVES YOU!" "JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOU!" "HE IS RISEN!" "HALLELUJAH!" "HONK FOR JESUS!" Drivers honked their horns and waved. One guy driving a pick-up truck shouted and pumped his fist in agreement as he drove by. I know this guy. "THAT'S MY NEIGHBOR!" A broken-down car chugs by. "GOD HAS A CAR FOR YOU!" Someone drove by in an old, beat-up looking motorhome. "GOD HAS A HOME FOR YOU!" A man riding a bicycle whizzes by. "GOD CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR PROBLEMS!" "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at ...

The Garden A while back, I read a work by Max Lucado called "Come Home, God Is Calling". In Chapter 3 of the piece (starting on page 9) is a reflection of Christ's arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before the crucifixion ( John 18:1-9 ) As I read it, I placed myself in the story. I was there, with the disciples. I witnessed the soldiers - speira - no fewer than 200 men, all of them armed, all of them surrounding us. "Who are you looking for?" Jesus asked. They answered, "Jesus from Nazareth." "I am he," Jesus said. When Jesus said, "I am he," they moved back and fell to the ground. All of them. I moved back and fell to the ground (in this scene as it played in my mind). When Jesus speaks, Satan falls. Why then, if I were with the disicples and with Jesus, did I fall back? Why didn't I remain standing? Because I am a sinner. Yes, I've been saved through faith in Jesus, saved by grace. But I am also human, tainted ...

Signs of Easter I was driving home today and found myself "thinking outside the box"..... You know those signs that people get paid to hold and wave back and forth on the street corners? The ones advertising everything from PIZZA to TAX RETURNS DONE to CARS FOR SALE to CELL PHONES.... What if.... On Easter Sunday, two people dressed as ANGELS waving signs that say "HE IS RISEN!" and "HALLALUJAH!", and someone dressed as the RISEN JESUS waving from a street corner. It might not be "politically correct" to promote Christmas. But I haven't heard any uproar about promoting the RESURRECTION of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Inscription on artwork: "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. - Romans 14:9" Artwork "Risen" by David Sorensen